Access Denied
by Please.Insert.Name
Summary: Life is filled with moments, and in one moment in Harry Potter's life he made the wrong decision. Denied access to the afterlife by Death, he must go back and alter this moment to change history. The only problem is he has no idea what he is looking for.
1. Chapter 1

_Life is really simple, but we insist on making it complicated._

~Confucius

* * *

_"Early this evening at 6.32pm Harry Potter "The Man Who Conquered" passed away at the age of 35 in what is being described as a routine sweep for Dark Wizards in Central London. Minister for Magic Kingsley Shacklebolt had this to say:_

"_We have lost a great colleague, but more than that, we have lost a great friend. Harry Potter will go down in history with titles such as 'The Boy Who Lived', but that was only the beginning of the impact he would come to have on the Wizarding World. Our society is better of because of him and his contributions as head of the Auror Department will be an example for generations to come. Whilst I mourn, I am also happy to have known such a great man, and we should all take heed of his legacy."_

_Family members were unavailable for comment, the only statement received was from Ron Weasley which we are unable to print it here. More details of his sudden passing will be released upon his post-mortem, but for now turn to page 3 to hear more about "The Boy Who Lived" and his life after Voldemort."_

Harry threw down the paper, it landed with a violent thud onto the mahogany table. His companion glanced at him, and if Death had eyebrows they would have been raised in alarm.

"They make it sound as if I was killed by a back alley wizard who didn't know Polyjuice from Felix Felicis!" fumed Harry.

"_You think that's bad_," said Death, his voice sounding similar to the grating thud of a coffin shutting, "_At least you aren't made to be the villain of the piece, I should write a letter of complaint. Death is quite nice once you try it for a few centuries."_

"Albus Dumbledore said death is but the next great adventure," whispered Harry fondly.

"_Ah yes, he was a fun one, not many reapings are fun, but he kept me amused all the way from here to... Well I can't tell you where yet,"_ said Death, scratching his head – could you call it a head, it was more a skull with piercing red eyes – with his scythe creating a sharp screech that sent shivers down Harry's spine.

"Why can't you tell me where yet? I'm dead, or did you not read the paper," Harry felt Death's glare on him, it felt like being in a sniper's line of fire.

"_I don't have to read the papers to know who I can and cannot take_," and if he possessed any tone other than the monotone Harry was sure that he would be smug.

"So am I supposed to stay here until it's decided if I gain access?" Harry looked around the bleak room. Everything was dark, the curtains were stiff, black velvet, the chairs he and Death were sitting on was black too. A varnished mahogany table sat between them, and it felt strangely like an interview in which he was applying for access to the afterlife.

"_No, every few decades someone comes along with unfinished business. Most people would forget or just not care about a task they had left undone, they are more traumatised by dying and regretting small things like not eating another chocolate frog. And then there are others, ones who will literally move heaven and earth to finish what they started. Guess what category you fall into?" _Harry swore Death's eyes twinkled with amusement.

"Well I don't have any regrets, not big ones anyway," Harry racked his brain trying to come up with something, but each time he thought he was onto something he reached a dead end. "Do you know what it is?"

_"No."_

"So that's that then, I'm stuck," Harry could hear the frustration in his tone. Who could blame him really, he had left a raid for what? A room full of dusty, black fixtures and an eternity of hearing Death moan. Brilliant.

"_I can do one thing though,_" now Harry was sure Death was messing with him. Probably the most fun he had had since Dumbledore.

"What?" At this point Harry would accept anything.

"_I can send you back to the moment, give or take a year. Human lifespans are so short, it's like passing thread through a needle. Easy to get wrong the first try."_

"How long do I have when I'm back?" Harry could feel the first seeds of hope sprouting.

"_You have until you complete it. unless you miss the moment, then you are trapped, unless I come for you."_

"Would you?" asked Harry sceptically.

"_It depends on my schedule, if any wars come up it could take a while."_

"I'll take it!" Harry didn't care if he was trapped at this point, he either wanted to pass on or return, staying here with this cold man – well, skeleton – was too unbearable to even consider.

"_That was fast, the last person took at least a month to decide_," Harry wasn't sure if Death was offended, he supposed he wouldn't get much lively company that often.

"I don't like mysteries," replied Harry hastily.

"_Pity, I like causing them. post-mortems ruined them, but it did make me more creative_," Death gave Harry a pearly white smile, if he was trying to joke then he failed, Harry just felt another shiver go down his spine.

"Can I go back now?" Harry didn't care if he was being rude at this point.

"_I always hate how impatient you mortals are, it's like you want to live your lives in a second."_

Suddenly Harry felt the room shift, it started slowly evaporating from his vision as if the room had been made entirely of mist. The remaining darkness flooded in, blocking his senses one by one. The very last thing Harry registered were the cold, red eyes of Death, and if he never knew any better he would have thought they were laughing.

* * *

A/N: Hello! It's been a while since I've written a fanfiction, but finally my scheduled cleared a bit so I can start doing it again. I'm not sure how long this story is going to be, but it won't be an epic that's for sure. I hope you like this teaser, and feel free to speculate on what is holding Harry back from the afterlife!

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Harry Potter.


	2. Chapter 2

It was dark, very dark. He seemed to be lying on something soft. Tensing, he tried to listen to his surroundings… He could hear a rumbling.

That was strange, it sounded like Ron snoring. Why was Ron in his bedroom?

Cracking open his eyes, Harry squinted for a moment, blearily making out that he was in a bed that very much resembled his one from his Hogwarts days. Blindly reaching for the nightstand, he felt the familiar cold rim of his glasses. Putting them on, he peered out of the hangings, realising with a start that he actually was in Hogwarts.

Please no… Anything but this surely…

Looking at his hands he realised that they were much smoother, younger looking. When Death had mentioned sending him back in time he thought it would be something like last week, not his Fifth Year!

He was a 35 year old man in a 16 year old's body… He was pretty sure there were films about this scenario. They had made it seem funny when in actual fact it was horrifying.

Wait, what month was it?

"Tempus" he whispered.

15/09/1996 05.03am

Fuck.

He really had to do all this again…He couldn't even remember any of his coursework from Fifth Year let alone how he passed the first time!

Another horrifying thought occured to him. Umbridge. He had almost forgotten about her. He almost groaned out loud at that thought, she would just be starting her reign of terror.

At least he could still do non-verbal magic. Maybe he could non-verbally magic her into the Forbidden Forest, get her acquainted with the centaurs a little earlier….

Ron let out another snore interrupting his thought process.

Wait, another unsettling thought occurred to him. This was the year Voldemort got into his mind, did that mean he would see the future? Would Voldemort be able to see his defeat and change events?

Why didn't he ask Death more questions?!

Moving back into bed, he felt had just settled when he felt his bed dip slightly, only noticeable due to his heightened sensitivity from Auror training. It was also his Auror training that stopped him screaming when he saw a skeleton was sitting at the end of his bed.

_"I'm starting to feel a little wounded at the amount of people who look at me like that. You humans ask me questions and then look scared when I take time out of my considerably busy schedule to answer them. That is not polite."_ Death said, his red eyes crackling with what could almost be described as hurt.

"Sorry, I wasn't expecting it. I haven't died again, have I?" asked Harry, settling back down into his blankets. Merlin, he had forgotten how cold Hogwarts got.

_"No, you asked if other humans could know you are from the future. I am assured that other humans possessing that knowledge would cause cracks in the universe and other such bad events," _said Death, as if cracks in the universe was the same as a small cold. Annoying, but you could live with it.

"What if someone reads my mind?" asked Harry, voicing his fear from moments before.

_"No, you are here incognito if you prefer that term. It should be quite impossible for anyone to tell," _said Death calmly.

"Only quite impossible?" asked Harry sceptically.

_"I was told by the auditors that I could not deal in absolutes, if for some reason the universe has a loophole, they do not want to be sued,"_ replied Death.

"Auditors?" whispered Harry.

_"I think you will come to find that just about everywhere has bureaucracy. Also I might have got it wrong a few times… Then people actually think they are dead when they're not and it gets a little messy,"_ if Death had emotions Harry would have almost thought he was embarrassed.

"So Voldemort might be able to read my mind?" asked Harry.

_"He should not be able to, these are fixed events and nothing can change what has happened... Well almost nothing can anyway,"_ replied Death.

"You are not exactly reassuring, are you," muttered Harry.

_"If you have any more queries I would ask me now, I believe there is about to be a shipping disaster that will take me away for a while,"_ said Death impatiently, removing an hourglass from his robe and looking at it critically.

"Um… No I think that was everything," said Harry, hoping he wouldn't think of anything else later.

_"Well then goodnight, I believe you have double Potions tomorrow so if I were you I would sleep, or whatever it is you humans do,"_ said Death, before fading away slowly, his red eyes the last to disappear, floating disconcertingly in the darkness before they were gone. Just to be sure he was really gone Harry threw one of his pillows at the space that Death had occupied, satisfied when it landed with a soft thud at the foot of his bed.

Placing his glasses on the nightstand, Harry burrowed into the blankets, sure that he would feel a lot better about this after a good nights sleep.

Wait... Harry's brain caught up with one of the last things Death had said.

Double Potions. Tomorrow.

Harry groaned into his pillow. Why couldn't he just be dead?

At least if he failed to figure out why he was here he was reasonably sure Snape or Umbridge would probably just kill him anyway.

Slightly reassured by this, Harry promptly fell asleep.

**A/N: Hello! I had not forgotten about this, I was just deciding the course I wanted this story to go down. I hope you've enjoyed this.**

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Harry Potter**


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